FAS to Develop AI for Detecting Cartel Conspiracies

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is developing an artificial intelligence system “Anti-Cartel” to automatically search for cartels in markets. The agency valued the project at 110 million rubles, and its launch was planned for 2023, writes «Ъ».

The FAS explained that the system will be deployed in a distributed big-data storage, merged into a single cluster. A screening service based on artificial intelligence and machine learning will automatically identify possible violators of antitrust law, the agency clarified.

“The program facilitates the prevention of violations by enabling self-check of the risk of participation in a cartel agreement,” added FAS.

By experts’ words, foreign and Russian companies have long used similar systems to analyse competitors’ actions on the market, and creating something similar for FAS would not be difficult.

Mikhail Sadofyev, Director of Data and Analytics Practice at Accenture in Russia, suggested that to create the algorithms developers use both direct signs of cartel collusion and indirect ones.

“Such a system can analyse company websites, their profiles on social networks, product catalogs, public filings, procurement sites, as well as data that can be requested from companies at the state level,” added Sadofyev.

The CEO of the Internet Research Institute Karen Kazaryan warned that during the deployment of “Anti-Cartel” the FAS could face legal difficulties. He believes that before implementing the system the agency will need to prepare the appropriate legislative framework so that violators can be held accountable.

Earlier in May 2021 Roskomnadzor said that it uses artificial intelligence to search for prohibited information on the internet.

At the end of April the Russian Ministry of Defense announced its intent to create an AI directorate within the department.

In April, the Russian Lawyers Association proposed that state bodies regulate the use of algorithms in the country.

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